A COUNCIL leader has vowed to make a borough ‘dementia friendly’.

Cllr Ken Hind, leader of Ribble Valley Council, has organised a new committee tasked to raise awareness and provide support to people who have dementia.

The working group will be made up of five members including Cllr Hind, deputy leader Cllr Paul Elms, chairman of the health and housing committee and former NHS director Bridget Hilton, who also represents Waddington and West Bradford, opposition cllr Mary Robinson and Cllr Sue Bibby, the old people’s champion of the Ribble Valley.

Cllr Hind, said: “A high proportion of our population are elderly people.

“We forecast that 25 per cent of the population in the Ribble Valley will be over the age of retirement by 2035.

“We have a lot of people who care for elderly people suffering from dementia.

“Our plan is to support them where we can and make people aware of the big problem of atmosphere and create the services to deal with it."

Cllr Hilton said: “We will be working with partner organisations including the NHS commissioning group, the hospital and its for everyone and we will take a play a big role of that.

“Helping people to live in their own homes and lead independent lives and most importantly we want to make them feel integrated into the community as well as feel safe and welcomed.”